The same 13.47-kilometre stage will later be run as the Power Stage. Rovanperä fired a warning shot to the rest by setting the fastest time with a 2.6-second margin over teammate Elfyn Evans.
“I pushed a bit, but I wasn’t happy with my pace notes. Only the beginning was good, but there’s still a lot we can improve,” Rovanperä commented.
Rovanperä’s overall lead has grown to 51.1 seconds ahead of Sebastien Ogier. Ogier also expressed frustration with his pace note choices.
“I tried to drive well, but I didn’t really trust my notes on such a fast stage. We’ll need to adjust them a bit for the Power Stage,” said Ogier.
In the Super Sunday classification, Rovanperä holds a 4.9-second advantage over Evans. Ogier is third, but Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville is hot on his heels in the fight for Sunday points. Neuville trails Ogier by just 1.5 seconds, with a 2.5-second gap to Evans.
“It wasn’t a good stage from us. There was a lot of traffic during recce, and we weren’t able to make proper notes,” Neuville lamented.
Takamoto Katsuta continues to hold fourth place overall. A tight fight is unfolding for fifth between Adrien Fourmaux and Neuville – Fourmaux’s lead is now just 1.2 seconds. Ott Tänak sits in seventh on the leaderboard.
Three special stages remain on Sunday at Rally Islas Canarias.
Rally Islas Canarias standings after SS15/18:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 2:37:50.1 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +51.1 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +1:13.0 |
| 4. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +1:54.6 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +2:21.4 |
| 6. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +2:22.6 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +3:00.6 |
| 8. | Yohan Rossel | Citroen | +6:27.6 |
| 9. | Alejandro Cachon | Toyota | +6:46.5 |
Super Sunday standings:
| POS | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | 15:32.8 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +4.9 |
| 3. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +5.9 |
| 4. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +7.4 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +10.7 |
| 6. | Adrien Fourmaux | Hyundai | +11.8 |
| 7. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +13.3 |
Rally Islas Canarias itinerary (CET):
Thursday 24 April
10:01 SS1 Shakedown: Santa Brígida (6.26 km)
Friday 25 April
09:03 SS1 Valsequillo - Telde 1 (26.32 km)
10:49 SS2 Velleseco - Artenara 1 (15.27 km)
12:25 SS3 La Aldea - Mogán 1 (17.83 km)
14:35 Service
16:18 SS4 Valsequillo - Telde 2 (26.32 km)
18:04 SS5 Velleseco - Artenara 2 (15.27 km)
19:40 SS6 La Aldea - Mogán 2 (17.83 km)
Saturday 26 April
09:05 SS7 Moya - Gáldar 1 (24.09 km)
10:48 SS8 Arucas - Firgas - Teror 1 (13.75 km)
11:58 SS9 Tejeda - San Mateo 1 (23.30 km)
13:40 Service
16:05 SS10 Moya - Gáldar 2 (24.09 km)
17:48 SS11 Arucas - Firgas - Teror 2 (13.75 km)
18:58 SS12 Tejeda - San Mateo 2 (23.30 km)
21:35 SS13 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1.80 km)
Sunday 27 April
09:10 SS14 Agüimes - Santa Lucía 1 (14.97 km)
10:05 SS15 Maspalomas 1 (13.47 km)
11:35 SS16 Costa Canaria (1.50 km)
12:21 SS17 Agüimes - Santa Lucía 2 (14.97 km)
14:15 SS18 Maspalomas 2 (13.47 km) *Power Stage
